“And the world will be as one”: Global tributes take place for John Lennon’s 70th birthday

The 70th anniversary of John Lennon’s birth is being celebrated with a range of events around the world. Below are some of the main events taking place.

Lennon was born on 9 October 1940. Visit the Beatles Bible’s tribute site to his life and work, including features on all his songs and albums.

Iceland

Chief among the events is the lighting of the Imagine Peace Tower on the island of Viðey in Kollafjörður Bay near Reykjavík, Iceland, at 8pm GMT.

In the evening the Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band will perform a sell-out concert at Háskólabíó, Reykjavík, which will be dedicated to John Lennon. Ringo Starr and George Harrison’s widow Olivia are rumoured to be attending the event.

Prior to lighting the tower, which will remain illuminated until 9 December 2010, Yoko Ono will present awards to people chosen for their contributions to world peace. The Lennon Ono Grant for Peace was created in 2002, and this year’s recipients will be filmmaker Josh Fox, writer Michael Pollan, food safety campaigner Barbara Kowalcyk, and writer Alice Walker.

Liverpool

In Liverpool, Lennon’s birthplace, his son Julian will unveil the John Lennon Peace Monument in the city’s Chevasse Park. The 18ft monument has been created by American artist Lauren Voiers and was brought to Liverpool by the Beatles Story museum.

The John Lennon Tribute Season will also officially begin in Liverpool. A spectacular outdoor projection will mark the beginning of the season, which ends with Lennon Remembered, a tribute concert at the Echo Arena, on 9 December.

The projection will illuminate the Albert Dock with an image of Lennon, taken by photographer Bill Zygmant, each night until 23 October.

A recreation of Lennon and Ono’s famous 1969 bed-ins will take place at Liverpool’s Bluecoat arts centre. The event is supported by a video contribution from Ono. There will be 62 occupants over a period of 62 days, the first of which will be performance artist Hayley Newman and UK-based “cultural resistance collective of one” The Vacuum Cleaner.

Also in Liverpool, at the Philharmonic Hall, John Wilson will conduct the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in an evening of Lennon’s songs, also featuring Claire Martin, Curtis Stigers and Mark McGann.

The Cavern Club, where it all began for The Beatles, will stage a sold-out 70th Birthday Celebration concert from 5pm, featuring various tribute acts. There will also be a daily tribute to Lennon at the Cavern between 9 October and 9 December.

New York

The Quarrymen, Lennon’s first group, will perform a birthday concert for Lennon at the Society For Ethical Culture at 2 West 64th Street, New York City. The event is titled Happy Birthday John!, and will feature special guests.

There will also be a screening of LENNONYC at 7pm at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. Lou Reed will join director Michael Epstein and radio broadcaster Dennis Elsas to introduce the documentary about Lennon’s life.

Following the screening, Beatles tribute artist Shannon McDonald will create a painting of Lennon in the window of the 25CPW Gallery, 25 Central Park West and 62nd Street. An exhibition of her work will be showing until Tuesday 12 October.

Los Angeles

Between midday and 2pm a celebration will take place at John Lennon’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame outside the Capitol Records tower, 1750 N Vine Street, Hollywood. A number of musicians will perform songs by Lennon.

At the Grammy Museum from 2-4pm, the authors of Recording The Beatles, Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew, will take part in a panel discussion. Entry is restricted to museum members.

John Lennon time capsules

Three authorised time capsules will be sealed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Liverpool John Moores University, and in Reykjavík, Iceland. The boxes will contain more than 100 contributions from fans worldwide, a John Lennon Signature Box containing his solo back catalogue, a John Lennon Box Of Vision, other artefacts, and six sealed notes by Yoko Ono.

The capsules are to be opened at a ceremony due to take place on 9 October 2040, the centenary of Lennon’s birth.